


Little Shop, Little Shop of Horrors.

by coldairballoons



Category: Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party (Web Series)
Genre: (The WLWs Being My Girlfriends.), Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, F/F, I'm Giving The WLWs What They Want, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Lenore is Dirt Poor, Little Shop of Horrors References, Shitty Broadway Inspired, Unsympathetic Eddie Dantes, little shop of horrors au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26861707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coldairballoons/pseuds/coldairballoons
Summary: A Little Shop of Horrors Poe Party AU.On the twenty-third day of the month of September, in an early year of a decade not too long before our own, the human race suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence. And this terrifying enemy surfaced, (as such enemies often do,) in the seemingly most innocent and unlikely of places...
Relationships: Lenore/Annabel Lee
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Little Shop, Little Shop of Horrors.

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when you leave me listening to Little Shop on repeat while hyperfixating on Poe Party. I hope you're proud. I hope you are very proud.  
> In this, Eddie is Orin, which means that he's going to be VERY unsympathetic in this. Don't get me wrong, Eddie Dantes slaps, but he's going to be kind of a piece of shit specifically in this, I apologize in advance to the simps. (Namely: me.)
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: Implied/Referenced Abusive Relationship, talk of violence in relationships.

Every day, Lenore Persaud Poe made her way downtown to work, regretting everything in life that had led her to lead the life she did. Every day, she passed by the baker, who sold stale and moldy bread. Every day, she passed drunks and bums, passed out on the sidewalks, which were cracked, stained with something that she definitely did not want to investigate. Every day, she balanced herself on the curbs, walking with her arms out for a moment, trying to stay steady, if only for a minute, she could feel free.

Freedom, on Skid Row. That was a joke that would never get old, and Lenore definitely knew that she had no chance at it, like so many people there. Her entire life was one big joke, ever since her parents had died, left her and her brother alone. Edgar went off and angsted somewhere uptown, writing poetry about how terrible his life was, which she guessed paid the bills, so she’d refrain from making comments about how his sunny disposition would be great for a funeral home. But he sent down a letter every month or so with a few bucks in it, helped pay her rent, so it was fine.

Lenore Persaud Poe hated downtown. She hated it, hated the stink of the slums of the city, the disgusting sludge that got everywhere, no matter where she stepped. And step she did, stumbling a bit from the curb into the street and stepping in something, the cuffs of her pants getting stained with something vaguely muddy and extremely smelly. 

She paused, looking down at her shoes, one of which was now covered in a dark something. Pure regret filled her entire being, but she just sighed, knocking her foot against the concrete to get the worst of it off, before hoisting her bag back up onto her shoulder and continuing the walk down to the little shop at the corner.

Mr. Jim had given her a job, a place to stay until she could move uptown to live with Edgar, all he required was her work and a rent payment every few weeks. He was nice enough, Lenore thought, as she unlocked the door and wiped her feet off on the welcome mat. Nice enough, giving her a place and a job… still, she couldn’t help but she was falling into a deep pit every time she walked down the streets to the shop.

“Lenore!” She groaned internally, turning to Mr. Jim and giving an awkward, weak smile. He glared at her, hands on his hips, tapping his foot, in a way that was so comically perfect that Lenore almost laughed. “What time does your shift start?”

She paused, a reply running through her brain. “Is that a rhetorical question, Mr. Jim,” cheekily hummed Lenore with a grin, “or are you actually lookin’ for an answer?”

Mr. Jim glared at her for a moment, before rolling his eyes. “Looking for an  _ answer _ , Poe, as to why the hell you’re later than Lee over there, when you’ve got half as far to walk and one less angry boyfriend than her.”

“Low blow, Mr. Jim.” Lenore rolled her eyes, hanging her bag up on a hook behind the counter, and gave a small wave to Annabel Lee, who sat behind the counter, reading one of the books of poetry Edgar had sent over as a “housewarming” gift for the shop. “Heya, Annabel.”

Annabel looked up over her book, and her face lit up, which made something in Lenore’s chest flutter. Her hair was falling over her eye, and Lenore wanted to tuck it behind her ear and hold her face in her hands and kiss all over her cute face, but she couldn’t. No, probably not ever. So, Lenore just settled for a polite smile back, rather than to break her own heart at the thought.

She sat behind the counter, spinning side to side in the swivel chair, and hummed softly under her breath, looking at Annabel. “Hey, Anna, is that new eye makeup?”

  
Annabel flinched a bit, looking up at her. “...what’s that?”

“New eye makeup?” Lenore gestured to her eye, which was covered with hair, but… maybe that was intentional. Anna looked shocked for a minute, before giggling nervously, looking down. “You look nice no matter what, just askin’.”

There was a moment of silence, before Mr. Jim tossed a towel at Lenore, who flailed to catch it, and it hit her square in the face with a squeak from Annabel and a “Hey!” from Lenore. “What’s that for?!”

Mr. Jim sighed, rolling his eyes. “Anna, I don’t think you oughta stay with that guy. He’s good for nothin’, I’ll tell ya that. What sort of professional rides a motorcycle and wears a leather jacket like that?”

“A… a banker, Mr. Jim.” Anna mumbled, looking down at the book in her hands. She set it down on the counter, leaning against it. “Eddie’s a banker, plus, he keeps me fed, a roof over my head, it’s not so bad…”

“Not so bad? He beats up on you, Anna.” Lenore said, spinning around in the chair to look at her. “No good guy for you would do that.”

“...maybe not…” She sighed, drawing little circles on the dirt on the countertop with her fingertip. (Lenore found it absolutely adorable, if she was being honest.) “But he’s the only guy I got.”

That made something in Lenore’s chest ache. The only guy, sure, but what about girl? She was  _ right _ there, she could make Annabel so happy, if only she would give her the chance. But with Eddie, with Eddie being, well…  _ Eddie _ , Lenore knew she didn’t stand a chance. So she sighed, smiling a bit. “Yeah, yeah. Well, if you ever need any help, you know where to find me, yeah?”

Annabel smiled up at Lenore a little bit, and her heart melted. “Yeah. Thanks, ‘Nore.”

Lenore gave her a small smile in reply, drumming her fingers on the arm of the swivel chair. The leather was peeling a bit, and she started to fiddle with it. “Don’t mention it, sunshine.” She hummed, starting to spin again.

God, if only she could get out of Skid Row. Get out of this dump of a city, hell, even neighborhood. Go live a life somewhere that’s green, and maybe, maybe then, Mr. Jim’s griping would stop, maybe she and Annabel could go off and live in some picturesque little town right in between the country and the city. Maybe she could get out of here.

“God, I’ve gotta get outta here.” Lenore mumbled, staring out the window into the streets. “There’s gotta be some way to get outta here…”

“What’s that?” Mr. Jim barked, and Lenore flinched. “Nothing, Mr. Jim!”

He raised an eyebrow, and turned back to the window display, fiddling with the shabby plants there. “It’s no wonder no one wants to come in, the whole place is a wreck.” He picked up a wimpy potted succulent, holding it up to the light. “Poor guy, he’s dyin’, just like everyone else in this hellhole.”

“You said it, Mr. Jim.” Lenore hummed, then paused. “...Anna, you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”

Annabel nodded eagerly, standing up and flattening out her skirt, turning to Mr. Jim with a smile. “Lenore’s real great with these… strange and unusual plants, she’s got a whole stash of ‘em down in her room!”

“Really.” Mr. Jim crossed his arms, cocking his head. “And are they any good, Poe?”

“Oh, you betcha, Mr. Jim.” Lenore quipped with a grin on her face. “They’re real nice, actually, I get these… trimmings, from this place on Gilded Boulevard, and… hold up, gimme a minute.” Immediately, she ran downstairs, tripping over her own feet as she stumbled down the steps to the basement, where shelves of exotic plants sat, nailed on shaky wooden boards to the walls. 

Immediately, she grabbed a small plant, potted in an old coffee tin, and held it up to the light, grinning.

“Well, little miss Anna II, you’re gonna be the star of this show.” Lenore beamed, stroking the pod of the plant with her index finger. “Just you wait and see, they’re gonna love you. They’re gonna love you.”

She grabbed a mister from a bin and brought it with her upstairs, grinning as she held it up in triumph. “Here she is, fellas.” Lenore called in a sing-song voice. “The Anna II!”

Anna’s face softened, and she leaned over to look at the plant. “You named it after me?”  _ Of course she did, I’m in love with you, I HAVE been in love with you ever since you first said hello to me at the flower shop on de Trinis, please, please, just notice me-- _

Lenore laughed nonchalantly, trying to hide how flustered and awkward she was becoming with a little grin. “I hope you don’t mind…” 

But she giggled a little bit, beaming, and Lenore melted, and fell even more in love with her than she ever thought was possible. “I don’t mind at all, Lenore. I think you’re… you’re…” Annabel reached across Anna II and booped Lenore’s nose, whose face heated up instantly at the touch. “I think you’re swell!”

Mr. Jim walked over, prodding it at it with a finger. “What is it?”

Lenore blinked, tearing her eyes away from Anna’s. God, did she always have such perfect blue-grey eyes? Like an ocean, or a storm, or a stormy ocean, or--”Some kinda flytrap, I think, but I can’t find anything in any of my books… but it’s been dying, I can’t get it to thrive here.”

“Well, a dead plant does no one any good, Poe, so you’d better figure out a way to get it to live.” He jabbed an accusing finger at her, and Lenore stumbled back a bit, raising her free hand, the one that wasn’t holding Anna II in surrender.

“I will! I will! Don’t you worry, Mr. Jim, I’ll figure it out.” She gave him a two-fingered salute, which he slowly returned, clearly confused. “Don’t you worry. Anna II and I are gonna be just fine, ain’t that right, girl?”

All three of them looked at the plant, as if they expected it to talk back, before Lenore realized how the tension in the room had shifted, turning from confusion to awkwardness. She laughed nervously, playing it off. “It’s… it’s a plant. It can’t… talk.” She offered, and both of them looked at her like she was crazy, before Annabel giggled nervously.

Ignoring her burning face, Lenore set the plant down on the counter, leaning up against it. “Mr. Jim, what time do we close today?”

He checked his watch, then looked up at the clock that was probably a few minutes off, then back down at his watch. Glancing over his shoulder at the door, Mr. Jim sighed, shrugging. “Yeah, yeah, we ain’t gettin’ a lot of business today anyways, call it a day, Poe. Lee, you stayin’ or goin’?”

Annabel shrugged sadly. “I’ve got a date, Mr. Jim, I’d better be headin’ out anyways.”

“With that banker who’s always beatin’ up on you?” Lenore frowned, turning to her. “Anna, I know you don’t got anyone else, but you’re better off alive and single than… whatever he’s doin’ to you, I’ll tell you that.”

“That’s easy for you to say, last time you had a date was…” she paused. “...you haven’t. Not since I met you, anyways…”

Lenore winced, because maybe there was a reason for that. A reason she didn’t want to give her heart to anyone but Annabel. Annabel Lee, the embodiment of sunshine, the one who lit up her world. The one who got hurt, but shook it off, because she wore her heart out on her sleeve, rather than hide it under lock and key, waiting for the key to finally leave her sadistic banker and come running to her with open arms…

...but maybe that was just Lenore.

After all, every day was like today, in Skid Row. Every day, Lenore had to watch as Annabel Lee walked in, bruised, battered, and couldn’t do anything to help her, because, despite her frail exterior, her heart was stubborn. And she was sure it was right, Eddie was the only guy she had.

But God, why wouldn’t she just realize? She asked herself that every day of her life. Why wouldn’t Annabel realize that Lenore could help her, in any way she needed? 

And when would Annabel Lee realize that Lenore was madly in love with her?


End file.
